Core i5-11400F

The Rocket Lake i5-11400F paired with a B560 motherboard and 3200 RAM ($365 USD) offers unprecedented value for money to gamers. It completely prices AMD's 5000 series out of the market. Rocket Lake brings higher IPC (early samples indicate +19%) which translates to around a 10% faster Effective Speed than both Intel's 10th Gen and AMD’s 5000 series. Despite Intel’s performance lead, AMD continues to outsell Intel. Given the scale of Intel's operation, it’s inexplicable that their marketing remains so neglected. Little effort is made to counter widespread disinformation such as: “it uses too much electricity” or the classic: “it needs more cores”. Intel’s marketing samples are routinely distributed to reviewers that appear better incentivized to bury Intel's products rather than review them. Not enabling XMP or only testing with BIOS power limits enabled is akin to leaving the handbrake on during a race. Mind-numbing “scientific” and rendering benchmarks are presented as gospel. Different games, mostly unplayed by real users, are cherry picked for each “review”. When it's convenient, canned game benchmarks are chosen such as Ulletical’s CSGO which runs at nearly double the in-game fps. Credible benchmark data, which necessarily includes replicable video footage from popular games, is the exception rather than the rule. At every release, AMD’s marketers coordinate narratives to ensure another feast of blue blubber. Nonetheless, towards the end of 2021, Intel’s Golden Cove is due to offer an additional 20-30% performance increase. At that time, with a net 30-40% performance lead, Intel will probably regain significant market share despite AMD's class-leading marketing. In the meantime, most PC gamers need look no further than the 11400F. ^{[Mar '21 CPUPro]}